Access to domestic and international markets vital to Liaoning's collaborations and transactions

The past decade has witnessed booming high-level opening-up and integration into domestic and international circulations, said Wang Xinwei, Party secretary of Shenyang.

Wang said Shenyang, Liaoning province, connects to the world with a transportation network featuring land, sea and air routes. China-Europe freight trains departing from Shenyang can reach five major rail ports in China.

In 2021, its cross-border e-commerce transaction volume increased 4.4 times over 2020, and the total import and export volume of the city increased by 36.2 percent compared with 2020.

"Shenyang has made notable progress in serving as an opening-up platform," Wang said. In 2021, the fifth Meeting for Local Leader of China and Central and Eastern European countries was held in Shenyang. The upgrading of enterprises in the Shenyang Area of China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone was selected as one of the national best cases.

Moreover, the China-Germany Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park in Shenyang attracted 31 projects in 2021. Shenyang has been promoting 70 advancing projects to promote regional collaboration. One of them is the Shenyang-Changbaishan high-speed railway, which links Shenyang with Antu county, Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture in Jilin province.

"With a cool head and a sense of responsibility amid complexities and multiple challenges, Shenyang will strive to build an open economy, which can back up stable economic growth," Wang said.

To this end, Shenyang will launch a high-level opening-up cooperation platform, speed up the construction of its FTZ, roll out an action plan to promote opening-up, and produce more than 30 innovative cases, local officials said.

A number of innovation platforms are taking shape. They include Shenyang Hunnan Technology City, Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science and the AECC Gas Turbine. To promote cross-border e-commerce, an exhibition and trading platform for machine tool maintenance and remanufacturing built in Shenyang is expected to start online operations soon.

Shenyang will also refine its transport network, Wang said. The city will determine the scope and functions of its airport economic zone and make more efforts in related designs. Speaking of land routes, the city will build itself into a national logistics hub.

International mail, international express mail and goods sent from cross-border e-commerce sites will be processed in a one-stop supervision center in Shenyang, as part of the city's efforts to smoothen import and export activities.

This year, Shenyang is expected to sign 2,000 contracts worth 100 million yuan ($13.92 million) in total and ensure that 1,000 of them are put into operation. A special team consisting of local officials will stand by to follow up on these contracts.

In addition, the methods of attracting investment will be upgraded, said Wang. More promotion events and publicity activities will be held to attract more and better projects.

As foreign investment is crucial to the development of Shenyang, Wang said, cooperation with foreign enterprises in the China-Germany, China-Japan and China-South Korea industrial parks matters. Thus, the local government will provide more user-friendly services.

The city will also apply for the position as one of the trials for further opening-up of the services sector and issue a series of policies regarding tax and fee reduction, access to fast customs clearance and financing.

More efforts will be given to its work plan for supporting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and to the transformation and upgrading of foreign trade, Wang added.